With the deficit increasing at an exponential rate every year (and the actual deficit including promised retirement benefits being much higher than the reported deficit), and social programs on the road to bankruptcy, will Americans riot in the streets if/when the government teet runs dry?

Please don't make this a partisan debate. Obama's spending is crazy, but Republicans were no better; their claims of fiscal responsibility stem from said responsibility being the flavor of the month. The last President to balance the budget was Clinton.

I don't think the US has nearly the same sense of entitlement when it comes to these benefits as certain European countries seem to have. I wouldn't count on this being an issue.

I don't think the people in the U.S. realize just how much they get in subsidies from the Federal government. If we had to enact some austerity measures and the half of the country that currently has no Federal tax liability suddenly found themselves on the hook for their fair share, you'll see exactly where our sense of entitlement lives.

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I had a very witty signature once, but apparently it offended the sensibilities of some of the frailer constitutions that frequent this particular internet message board.

[The rest of this message has been censored and I can't tell you what I actually think of you]

I don't think the US has nearly the same sense of entitlement when it comes to these benefits as certain European countries seem to have. I wouldn't count on this being an issue.

I don't think the people in the U.S. realize just how much they get in subsidies from the Federal government. If we had to enact some austerity measures and the half of the country that currently has no Federal tax liability suddenly found themselves on the hook for their fair share, you'll see exactly where our sense of entitlement lives.

Something like these two, our problem lies on the other end of the spectrum. We may not have the 'sense of entitlement' or whatever, but we hardly have to will to pay for what we do have. I don't see us undergoing the same process as Greece. More likely we'll just weaken the federal government and ask the state governments to pick up the tab; until things get to the point where we'll all see it in our best interest to go our separate ways.

I don't think the people in the U.S. realize just how much they get in subsidies from the Federal government. If we had to enact some austerity measures and the half of the country that currently has no Federal tax liability suddenly found themselves on the hook for their fair share, you'll see exactly where our sense of entitlement lives.

This worries me, but Social Security seems like a bigger trigger, especially for my generation. If Social Security bankrupts, my generation will have spent our entire working lives paying into a system that breaks just a few years before we would be eligible for benefits.

As silly as it seems, many people still view Social Security as their biggest form of future retirement income. Take that away and you're going to have some seriously ********** 40 and 50-somethings.

I don't think the people in the U.S. realize just how much they get in subsidies from the Federal government. If we had to enact some austerity measures and the half of the country that currently has no Federal tax liability suddenly found themselves on the hook for their fair share, you'll see exactly where our sense of entitlement lives.

I don't think the people in the U.S. realize just how much they get in subsidies from the Federal government. If we had to enact some austerity measures and the half of the country that currently has no Federal tax liability suddenly found themselves on the hook for their fair share, you'll see exactly where our sense of entitlement lives.

What do you include in subsidies?

All dollars either a) paid by the Federal government or a Federally funded N.G.O. directly to a U.S. corporation or individual b) in tax payments to the Federal government by a corporation or individual reduced by a tax law loophole (exemption, credit, etc.) that do not fall in to 30 enumerated powers of the Federal government, as defined by the constitution.

____________________________

I had a very witty signature once, but apparently it offended the sensibilities of some of the frailer constitutions that frequent this particular internet message board.

[The rest of this message has been censored and I can't tell you what I actually think of you]